President Donald Trump has accepted the resignation of US Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, nearly a week after sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was arrested on child sex charges.
Acosta was criticized by the Democrats for handing Epstein a sweetheart plea deal following his 2007 arrest on child sex trafficking charges. Epstein’s plea deal allowed him to serve only 12 months in prison – with 5 days a week spent working at his offices in Florida.
“I called the president this morning and told him that I thought the right thing was to step aside,” Acosta said in a joint appearance with President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday.
“He doesn’t have to do this,” said Trump. “He’s doing this not for himself, he’s doing this for the administration.”
Acosta’s resignation comes amid news that a dozen more alleged Epstein victims have come forward with new allegations against him.
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Geoffrey Berman, made a public plea for more victims to come forward.
Epstein, 66, was arrested Saturday night at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. He has been held in federal custody since his arrest.
The disgraced billionaire financier has reportedly agreed to a plea deal in the current case. In exchange for 5 years maximum in federal prison, Epstein is willing to give up the names of his high-profile friends who paid for sex with minors during parties on his private island.
“…Epstein will agree to cooperate with the investigation, including giving up the names of individuals that paid for activities with underage girls in exchange for a maximum sentence not to exceed 5 years,” OANN’s Jack Posobiec tweeted.
Hundreds of celebrities and powerful figures in the business with ties to Epstein are in panic mode.
Trump and former President Bill Clinton, former friends of Epstein’s who flew on his private Boeing 727, have released statements publicly distancing themselves from him.
Clinton flew on Epstein’s plane, dubbed the “Lolita Express” by the news media, a total of 26 times. The Lolita Express made hundreds of trips to Epstein’s private island where he plied his guests with drugs, booze and underage girls. Flight logs show Epstein had 21 phone numbers for Clinton.
During his arraignment on Monday, Epstein’s attorneys pleaded with the judge to release Epstein on home confinement.
The legal team promised to hire armed security guards to prevent Epstein from fleeing the country. They also said his private plane would be grounded and he would put up his $77 million New York townhouse as collateral for the bond.
A judge will render his decision on bail on Monday.
Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images
